Rylan didn't pull the letter out just yet. There was still a question that he hoped his friend, despite all odds, might know something about. "Soren, have you ever heard of someone having a, ehm, unknown Affinity?"

"Unknown?" Soren repeated. "Is this a hypothetical, or...?"

"No, it's me," Rylan admitted, a wave of embarrassment rushing through him. "I think something might've gone wrong during the affixation."

Soren sat up straighter in his hammock, his brow furrowing. "Start at the beginning and tell me everything."

Rylan took a deep breath, and explained about the warning messages he got from Ethereon about 'external spirit modifications' making him unfit to receive an Affinity.

And why he did it anyway.

"So Ethereon doesn't know?!" Soren repeated, sounding aghast.

"It just keeps saying that the analysis failed, and suggesting I find a console for a more thorough check. Do you know where I could find one? Aside from the ruins of Aeloria, I mean..."

Sorne blew out a breath. "I'll be honest, I'd never heard of one before this journey. I'll take a wild guess and say at the very least the major families will have access to them, perhaps the cities too. The professor seemed to know what it was, at the very least; maybe you could ask him?"

Rylan nodded. "That's a good idea. I was already thinking about asking him about my Affinity anyway. I guess it'll have to wait till we make land, though."

The professor had come down for dinner, but then immediately gone back up into the floater. He needed to carefully monitor the level of gasified Aetherium in there, and occasionally top it off from Rylan's canister.

Perhaps it was better they'd found this use for it. The stuff might've been wasted on Rylan anyway.

Apparently, some of his gloom and disappointment showed on his face, for Soren reached across the space between their hammocks to squeeze Rylan's shoulder. "Hey, chin up. Who knows? Maybe you'll be the reason we discover an entirely new Divine Element!"

Despite himself, Rylan felt a smile creep onto his face. "We could call it Rylanium."

Soren scrunched up his nose. "Eh... let's table the naming for later. We can workshop something if it becomes relevant."

"Oy! What's wrong with my name?!"

"We're talking about a Divine Element, here, Ryles. Do you want to offend the Greater Spirits?"

Grumbling, Rylan conceded the point.

"Anyway," Soren said with a smirk. "Wasn't there something you wanted to show me?"

Rylan's humour fled like hoppers before a hungry gull. Steeling himself, he pulled the small rolled-up letter from his pocket.

Soren's eyes went wide. "You're sure?" he asked softly.

Rylan hesitated. "I am. Just... give me a second."

Turning his back to his friend, Rylan unrolled the letter, dabbed his thumb on his tongue, and started rubbing out a couple of words.

The ink smudged quite easily, but Rylan continued until the words were completely illegible.

While he'd forgiven Soren for his past transgressions, the young noble would still have to put in some effort if he wanted to fully regain Rylan's trust.

To his credit, Soren patiently waited until he was done, and didn't comment on the smudges as Rylan held the letter up for his friend to read by the light of his glowband, his own eyes skimming the little strip of bamboo paper as well.

'Dear Rylan,' the familiar letters read. 'I don't have much time, and my hand won't stop shaking, but I figured I owe you this much, at least. I have many regrets. I wish I'd known about you sooner. I wish I could've seen you grow up. But all that matters, truly matters, is your safety. Unfortunately, despite my best efforts, I fear they suspect. Your caretakers asked me not to contact you directly—I don't know how much they've told you and I can't say much here either, lest this letter falls in the wrong hands—but I had to warn you: they're coming. If you treasure your jewels, stay out of sight. Anonymity remains your best defence. If all else fails and you really need some assistance, come to the Knackered Hag, and ask for "Red-Nosed Art", sincerely...'

And beneath that stood a small, scratched-out word that looked suspiciously like 'Dad.'

The parts Rylan had smudged out had of course read 'The Knackered Hag' and 'Red-Nosed Art.' Rylan had figured there was no real reason to share those particular details with Soren anyway, as he'd already learned the location of The Knackered Hag from Yuel.

"Woah," Soren breathed out eventually, his eyes darting from the letter to Rylan, and back.

"So as you can imagine," Rylan said. "I have some questions."

"I'll say! Someone's coming for your jewels?!"

"Let's not focus on that, please," Rylan said tersely, pointing out the word 'caretakers' instead. "Right here. Who do you think that refers to?"

Soren frowned. "Well... that's gotta be my parents, right? I mean, who else... wait, does that mean my parents know your dad?!"

Rylan scanned his friend's face, but found no hint of deception. He let out a sigh. "That's what I thought too. I'd hoped you might know more about it..."

Soren shook his head, looking baffled. "Sorry Ryles. If I'd known anything about your parents, I would've told you a long time ago. But this is one freaky letter! I mean, who are 'they' and why are they after your fogging j—"

Soren cut himself off when the door swung open.

Tamina froze in the doorway, taking in their expressions and raising a single brow. "I'm sorry, did I interrupt something?" Her eyes fell on the rolled-up strip of paper, and her brows crinkled.

"Kind of," Rylan admitted after a moment. He'd hidden the most crucial details in the letter anyway. "I'm showing Soren this weird anonymous letter I got. I think it might be from my—"

"All right," Tamina interrupted. "I'll give you two a minute, then. Just wanted to say your shift at watch is coming up, Soren."

Before either of them could reply, the door clicked shut again, and she was off.

Rylan stared at the door, his brows furrowing. "Is she mad? Should I have just lied? I felt like that would've been worse, though..."

Soren stared at the door as well, his eyes narrowed. "I'm not sure..." He shook his head. "Anyway, tell me more. When did this arrive, and how? Who brought it to you?"

Rylan went over the details a bit more, explaining how the letter had come by gull on the day of his escape and was brought to him by Loukas. How he'd made a first attempt at reading it in the cooler by using his Skill on the letter opener that Grumpy Gordo had brought him. He evaded any mention of the smudges, but did share that he was planning to go looking for the sender as soon as they made land in Cliffport.

Soren fell silent for a while at the end. Then he let out a sigh. "I guess we're really parting ways tomorrow, huh?"

Rylan started slowly rolling his letter back up. "Seems that way."

Soren shook his head. "I mean, deep down I already knew that, but... it didn't actually feel real until now. I'm going to miss you, Ryles."

"Let's save the sentimental stuff for when we actually say goodbye, yeah? We haven't made it to Cliffport yet. Who knows: we might crash again."

"Wouldn't be the worst punishment, I guess," Soren joked. "To spend a few more weeks strolling across the cloudbed, eating interesting meals and seeing beautiful sights."

The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

Rylan snorted. "That's one way to describe it. I guess in hindsight it wasn't that bad, but I pray to Zeph we don't have to go through it again."

"I knew you worshipped Her!" Soren exclaimed, sitting up straighter, a smile spreading across his face.

"Yeah yeah," Rylan grumbled. "You caught me, congratulations."

"I always felt you would," Soren said earnestly. "You've got this kind of restless energy... Worshipping the Great Spirit of the Storm suits you. I gotta ask though, why were you always so skittish about it? I mean, it's not like it's weird to be a Zenite. If not the whole Pantheon, most people follow at least one of the six Great Spirits..."

Rylan shrugged. "It just felt a little embarrassing, I guess. Cliché, almost. The indentured servant with the deepmetal band locked around his ankle worships the Lady of Change, go figure. Admitting that would've been like... admitting that I couldn't take it anymore."

Soren was quiet for a beat. "Well, I think it's great that you were able to find comfort and guidance in Her teachings," he finally said delicately. "And you can rest assured that I'm going to have a lot of questions for my family when I get back."

Rylan felt the corners of his mouth quirking up at that, before they quickly fell again. "About that... will you be leaving for Thistlebloom soon? Because, I was thinking, if you wanted, you could stay in Cliffport for a bit. Perhaps... help me find whoever sent the letter?"

Soren groaned, dragging his hand across his face. "Well, fog... that sounds awesome, and I would love that. However, I already pretty much begged the captain for a lift on her way to Thornholm."

"Oh."

"Yeah. She's planning to charter a ride there as soon as possible—along with Halloth and Isai—to report back to the Thorns, and Thistlebloom is pretty much on the route. Plus, unlike you, I wasn't planning to leave home, so I kind of didn't bring any money..."

"Right," Rylan said nodding. "Yeah, that makes sense."

Soren bit his lip. "I guess I could stay. I bet I could bum some coin off of Yuel, but I'd have to write my family and ask them to come get me pretty soon, which might... inconvenience you."

Rylan firmly shook his head. "It's all right, really. You should go home; you deserve to go home, after all this. I'll be fine on my own, don't worry about it."

"Right... well, either way, I should really get to my shift," Soren said before rolling out of his hammock, easily landing on his feet in the floaty fog.

As the door clicked shut behind his friend, Rylan let out a sigh, dropping his head back down into his hammock.

[You all right, Boss?] Arphin asked.

'I'm fine, Arphin,' Rylan replied. 'Just feeling a bit off, I guess.'

[Oh! Why?]

'Because... we're all splitting up. And I'm not sure when we're going to see each other again.'

Well, technically, Rylan hadn't heard from everyone what they were planning yet. Like Tamina, but with her especially, he dreaded to ask.

Either way, the idea of Soren going back, of the various members of their little group each going their own way made him feel... odd. Untethered.

Hadn't that been what he'd wanted all along, though? To not be bound or beholden to anyone?

[Don't worry, Boss,] Arphin said. [I'm not going anywhere. It's you and me together, forever!]

'Thanks, Arphin,' Rylan sent back earnestly. 'I appreciate that.'

Rylan took a deep breath, turning over on his side. He should really get some rest, but his mind was churning with worry and excitement in equal measure.

An old fantasy came back to him unbidden. His birthparents, destitute, living in a hovel, forced to give up their only child through terrible circumstances. And then he'd show up and, to their shock and joy, reveal that he was a mighty Quinthar, capable of protecting and providing for them.

Well, truth be told, he was still a relatively weak Quinthar. He had some unusual gifts, like his spirit vision, Arphin, and his unknown Affinity, but he wasn't strong. Compared to Sapphire and Ruby-Grade Quinthar especially, his Mana Pool was pitiful. Thankfully, he had room to grow.

"Ethereon," he spoke softly. "May I see my Quintessence Structures window please?"

Quint Structures

Installed

Mana Core, Tier I

Mana Pool, Tier I

Mana Shell, Tier VI

Available

Mana Core Tier Up (1000 Q)

Mana Pool Tier Up (1000 Q)

Mana Shell Tier Up (100 Q)

Quintessence Credits: 118

That's right, I didn't spend the Credits I got for gaining the Cooking Skill yet...

He could get the seventh tier of Mana Shell. On the other hand, now that he was out of the cloudsea, he could also finally start saving up for an improvement to his Mana Core.

From what Soren had told him, the first tier up would double his mana generation to two points per hour. The second tier up would cost another 2000 credits, and boost his mana generation all the way up to five points per hour.

And that was apparently the limit for an Emerald-Grade Core. If he wanted to upgrade it further, he would first have to gain a Sapphire-Grade Skill to unlock the tier one Sapphire-Grade Core for purchase.

Similarly, his Mana Pool could only tier up twice at the Emerald Grade, which would triple his current Mana Pool. But he wanted the core improvement first.

Right now, if he was truly running on empty, between his Mana Pool of 14 and his Mana Shell capacity of 6, it would take twenty hours just to get back to full.

That was way too long.

To get the required credits for the tier up, however, he would need to Rank Up his Skills.

"Ethereon, show me my Skill Windows please."

Three windows popped up nigh-simultaneously, and Rylan started with the one on the left, which detailed his oldest Skill.

Knife-Throwing

Rank 3

Effects

Blade guard

Stable flight

Forceful impact

Augmentations

Overcharge: 1.7 mana

Rotation Control

When it came to Knife-Throwing's Augmentations, Rylan hoped to add more ways to adjust the flight of his knives after his throw.

The next step was to learn how to throw curves by using Rotation Control to adjust the straight-flying knife's yaw to the left or right, and allowing the air streaming alongside the blade to push it aside.

It would require significantly more precise mana control, but Rylan couldn't wait to start trying. With the help of Arphin's sensory feedback, he had no doubt he'd be able to progress relatively quickly

The middle window showed his second Skill.

Jumping

Rank 3

Effects

Foot guard

Improved launch velocity

Safe landing

Augmentations

Overcharge: 1.6 mana

Flying Kick

His second Augmentation had come as a surprise after the Challenge Dungeon, but for the next one, he had plans. What he wanted, ultimately, was to have Jumping fulfil all of his needs as a movement Skill.

Right now, it was perfect for making big vertical jumps and landing from great heights, but it was lacking in the horizontal department. Therefore, his next step would be to try and develop a multi-step jump, where he pushed off several times to gain forward momentum, before he launched himself.

It would require him to improve his control over how much of the mana stored at the soles of his feet he would use with each push. Funnily enough, the Flying Kick Augmentation actually was a good step in that direction, as it split the activation of his Skill between his two feet, first launching him with one, then allowing him to push with the other.

He'd need a good place to practice, though... Starting out within the fog might be better, but he wasn't sure how easy that would be to come by while living in the city. A problem for later.

The final window showed his third and final Skill, one he'd never thought he'd want, but was actually quite fond of now.

Cooking

Rank 1

Effects

Stamina buff

Improved shelf life

Minor recovery buff

He'd hardly gotten a chance to use it yet, so he wasn't quite sure how to improve upon it. Cooking was a Skill that could be activated continuously, like Soren's Dancing. The equivalent to Overcharge for a Skill like that was one that increased the flow of mana, but that didn't seem like a very sensible addition to a Skill like Cooking, where you could take your time to add mana gradually. He could do it anyway, just for the Credits, but that would be a waste, as it would just make each later Augmentation harder to get.

But he was sure he'd think of something better, given time.

And of course, there was always the option of acquiring more Skills. Rylan had put quite some effort into gaining Knife-Fighting, but he hadn't succeeded yet. More importantly, he now had the Attributes to possibly go for a Sapphire-Grade Skill.

If only he knew which ones he met the requirements of...

With a sigh, Rylan waved the windows away. Now wasn't the time to be working on his Skills; he hadn't even fully recovered his mana yet from helping Arphin Recall the captain out of Dreadmaw's stomach.

He needed to rest up for his shift on guard duty. They weren't home free yet.

Settling deeper into his hammock, Rylan shut his eyes. It took a while, but eventually, the gentle bob and sway of the vessel, and the sputtering of the putt-putt engine, lulled him to sleep.

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